SF/F Crowd Funding Roundup For 4/1/2014

Crowd funding is the in thing for obtaining money to fund a variety of projects, with Kickstarter being the most prominent of these sites. With new projects going live daily, it’s a chore to keep up with, let alone find, interesting genre projects. The Crowd Funding Roundup will be our effort to bring projects we think are interesting to your attention so you can, if you so choose, decide to help out. These posts are a collaborative effort between James Aquilone and JP Frantz.

What’s it about? An anthology of speculative fiction to benefit author CJ Henderson in his fight against cancer.

Why it’s interesting: The anthology, from Silence in the Library, will include stories from Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jack Dann, Ed Greenwood, Joe Haldeman, Nancy Holder, Tanya Huff, Gail Z. Martin, Jean Rabe and Mike Resnick. The money raised will endow a grant that will allow CJ to continue writing. The ebook of Dance Like a Monkey is $10, while the trade paperback is $25.

Why it’s interesting:Utopiates is based on the award winning graphic novel by Josh Finney (Titanium Rain, Star Trek: Enterprise) and Kat Rocha (Giant-Sized Batman #1). The production will star Denise Poirier, the voice of MTV’s Æon Flux, as the voice of Prophet, “a shadowy figure who deals in the most illicit of bio-engineered drugs in a futuristic Los Angeles.” The creators point out that “this is not an audiobook, but rather an audio film with a full-cast, immersive sound design and an original score by BBC composer Jonathan Sharp.” An MP3 of the Utopiates is $10, a CD of the audio drama is $15.

What’s it about? Aghast is a brand new, bi-annual, illustrated journal of dark fantasy and horror short fiction.

Why it’s interesting:Aghast will be available online, as well as in print and digital formats. The journal will contain between 30,000 and 50,000 words of original fiction. Each short story will be paired with an illustration by artist George Cotronis – who is also the editor. The ebook is $5, while the print edition is $10.

Why it’s interesting: Publisher and editor Iulian Ionescu plans to publish approximately 100,000 words of fiction every year, plus interviews and reviews. Rewards include electronic copies of the magazine, short story edits and critiques, and a tuckerization.

What’s it about? Choose your apex dinosaur, hunt prey, evolve your genetics, grow stronger, fight bosses, and dominate your friends in this dinosaur deckbuilder.Why it’s interesting: I like dinosaurs. I like card games. I like deckbuilders. Apex ticks all those boxes and the art on the cards sends this over the top. Who doesn’t want to play a game where giant reptiles battle it out for survival? $38 nets you the base game, which seems rather reasonable for a game with 600 cards. Add-ons include Grip Maps for the play field and for each player’s dinosaur.

What’s it about? The Micro Tomb Diving Game where players fight to be the first one to Escape with the Grail before the Boss Monster Locks the Door!Why it’s interesting: This game is the micro version of Everything Epic Games’ Secrets of the Lost Tomb boardgame. Aside from being a 1 – 2 player game, the really cool thing about Raiders, and yes this is an homage to pulpy adventure movies, is that it is a “pay what you want” game. The base pledge level is $3, though the recommended amount is $5. You can spare $5, right?

What’s it about? A unique take on deck-building and worker placement with a fantasy theme. Build a resort, lure in heroes and defend against monsters!Why it’s interesting: A sort of deck builder + worker placement game where you, as a resort owner, are building up your vacation resort in the hopes of attracting tourists and, hopefully, heroes who want to take a break from dungeon delving. They can also help you defend against marauding monsters. Pledge $40 to get the game and all stretch rewards. You know you want your resort to have the Slaughter Coaster…

James Aquilone is an editor and writer, mostly of the speculative ilk, from Staten Island, New York. His fiction is forthcoming or has appeared in Nature’s Futures, Galaxy’s Edge, Flash Fiction Online, and Weird Tales Magazine, among many other publications. His nonfiction has appeared in SF Signal, Den of Geek, Shock Totem, and Hellnotes. He is a member of the Horror Writers Association. Visit him at http://jamesaquilone.com